Drone attacks

Chairman Parliamentary Committee on National Security Raza Rabbani’s grouse that the US was disregarding the parliament’s resolution against the drone strikes was followed up by his warning about the consequences of Pakistan air force shooting them down. The possibility is though an extreme one yet, it is a fact that drones are a source of friction between the two allies, even though there is conflicting opinion whether these are happening with Islamabad’s consent. The drones are a nuisance for a number of reasons. For instance it is not uncommon for the CIA to target those outfits which are neutral towards Islamabad and are busy in fighting the foreign forces in Afghanistan. Hence Pakistan has been denied the room to manoeuvre the peace process that could have brought a respite from the spate of mass-casualty attacks. Secondly, and most importantly, since the US itself will soon be pulling out of Afghanistan leaving Pakistan to face the spill over effects of the war, logic dictates that the aerial warfare must be simultaneously ceased. If the US is itself having talks with militants across the border, it should not deny Pakistan the same opportunity by antagonising the tribal population.